To the Ends
by Tandirra
Summary: NO SLASH. After Loki suddenly appears to help the Avengers fight and something goes wrong the entire team must try and save Tony and Loki from trouble while they and save themselves. A bit of swearing, mostly from Tony, and more angst and pain from Loki in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The Avengers were used to fights by now, of course, but this one was different. The aliens had come out of nowhere, they seemed to have no real leader or desire, and there were thousands of them. Over the course of the fight the team had been split up, Tony had recklessly flown off and was currently fighting on his own, Thor and the Hulk were in the same general area, and Steve, Clint, and Natasha had taken a defensive position to avoid being overwhelmed.

"The hell?"

Tony yelped, as he felt something metal strike his armor. The alien that had tackled him froze and as Tony pulled away he saw a small blade sticking out of its stomach. The blade disappeared and the alien disintegrated. The now hollow armor clattered to the pavement and revealed, standing only a few feet away, the Trickster God.

"Aah! Godammit what are you doing here?! We've got enough to deal with at the moment!"

"Really Stark, I just killed this thing for you, do I look to be trying to kill you today"

Loki shouted sarcastically over the resounding explosions from another area of the city.

"Okay, yeah great, thanks. But why the hell are you here?!"

"I can't have you killed while fighting a bunch of nobodies, it would make me look bad. Besides what would I do without you? Life would be sooo dull."

The god's voice dripped with sarcasm as he whirled around and continued to blast aliens apart with bursts of magic.

"Jarvis keep track of Loki. I don't want him to stab me in the back, so if he gets too close give him a face full of missiles."

"Of course sir, I will set up defense measures immediately."

With every alien killed another four seemed to take its place. It had been a while sense Tony and heard anything from the other Avengers, though the occasional flashes of lightning and angry roars told him that at least Thor and Bruce were still fighting. He could only hope that Cap, Clint, and Natasha were alright. But he had is own problems to deal with at the moment. Every so often through the endless waves of aliens he would glimpse Loki, blasting aliens or knifing any that got within range with a look of deadly spite on his face.

Suddenly a great explosion rocked the ground, followed by the sound of screeching metal, disrupting Tony's focus. Looking up, he found the cause of the noise immediately. Two of the buildings closest to him had been struck by something and were crumbling quickly towards him.

"Shit, shit, _shit_!"

Tony tried to blast out of the way but the aliens, taking advantage of his distraction, had latched onto him and held him down.

"Too many, too many, _goddammit_!"

Then something much heavier than the aliens hit Tony from behind. He felt his shoulder missiles deploy as more concrete and metal crashed down around him. Then they exploded directly behind him, giving his suit a beating. Just before he blacked out he heard Loki shriek.

"You idiot!"

Groaning, Tony blinked blearily and tried to remember what had happened, squinting in the faint light.

"Jarvis?"

Nothing. The system was down.

"Great, just great."

Tony grumbled and took in his surroundings. He saw that the light came from a faint shimmer that seemed to be holding up thousands of pounds of concrete and metal from crushing him.

"Wait… what?"

"Finally awake…are we…Stark?"

"Loki?"

"Who else?"

Loki's voice sounded strained and tense. Pushing himself up with his arms Tony looked around the small space. Loki was crouched in a very uncomfortable looking position, with one hand spread flat against the top of the shimmering bubble and the other cradling his face. From between his fingers Loki glared venomously at Tony.

"Umm, where are we exactly?"

"Well Stark if you would think then it should be obvious, we are under quite a lot of rubble from the buildings that the beasts sabotaged."

"You saved me?"

"It would seem to be that way, wouldn't it?"

Tony stared back at Loki with a blank expression of shock. Deciding to look anywhere but the angry god, he surveyed the bubble again. It was mostly transparent, with only a slight shimmer that gave off some green light. Without Jarvis he had no idea how the other Avengers were doing and had no way of contacting them. The silence was stifling. Turning back to Loki, he decided talking was the best way to relieve tension.

"_So_, what happened to your face?"

"Your missiles, idiot."

"Oh yeah…. Sorry about that."

Silence enveloped them once more, this time broken by faint sounds of far off explosions.

"Why did you save me by the way, a little out of character for you isn't it?"

"Old habits and reflexes die hard Stark."

"What?"

"Well I did grow up on Asgard, and had to constantly save my brother when he got us into trouble by being incredibly dense and idiotic."

"So bad boy, evil god, supper villain went all hero for me. I'm touched. How the hell did you survive being blasted point blank in the face with, like, twenty missiles by the way?"

"Mmm… I'm a god. We tend to survive that kind of thing, I'm just a bit….. roughed up.."

"And you still managed to stop us from being killed…"

"You sound touched, sweet Stark but please, don't cry."

The sarcasm was obvious and lightened the mood a bit. Well, as much as possible given the situation. Rumbling sounded all around them as a piece of rubble fell and landed directly onto the shield.

"Aaa-aaaauugggghh, no…."

Loki moaned through gritted teeth, a look of pain crossing his face. The shield flickered but held as Loki's breathing became ragged and uneven. Putting his head down, he lifted his other hand from his face, to seemingly help hold up the shield.

"Ummm you alright? How strong is that thing?"

"Aaaah- what do you think Stark? I'm obviously fine, I mean this shield is constantly draining my energy, my face was recently blown up, and it feels like I'm holding up this rubble all by myself but I'm just fine."

Tony noticed the small blood puddle forming underneath Loki and watched as a few droplets splattered the pavement. Silence, broken by nothing but Loki's strained breathing enveloped them. What seemed like hours passed, then a faint scrabbling noise sounded close to them. Tony gasped and looked around.

"Do you here that? That could be what we've been waiting for!"

"Yes…perhaps…that would be… wonderful"

"Hey, hey can you here me? This way!"

The scrabbling sound stopped for a few moments, then resumed with increased vigor. Tony grinned, pleased with his success.

"So Loki what are you going to do when we get out of here? Scurry off or let yourself get caught and heal up before you escape?"

"You seem to think that either way I escape… Heh, more clever than you look I'll give you that, Stark. I assume I'll co-_augh_!"

The building shifted greatly as the scrabbling sound got louder and closer. Loki tensed and began cursing under his breath in a tongue Tony couldn't recognize. This drove them into silence once more as the sounds of life got closer.

The concrete shifted and Tony crawled over to where the opening was made.

"Hey thanks! You have no idea-"

An alien's face appeared through the hole, followed quickly by a sharp blow to Tony's face. The Avenger crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Loki watched all of this warily, cursing his vulnerability.

"Stay back, I have no fear of you foul thing. I am a god and you shall kneel to me or die painfully."

The alien stared at him then turned around, dragging Tony with it. Loki stared at the hole in the rubble for a few moments.

"Ah-wait! I command you, come back and remove this rubble!"

Nothing. Then, they were everywhere. Loki tried to kill them with magic but the strain of holding up the building was too great. He had lost to much blood, used to much energy, all he could do was kneel there and watch as the aliens swarmed around him. One knocked him to the ground, he gasped, bracing for death as the building creaked and shuddered. But it didn't come, he felt himself being dragged away by his legs. Opening his eyes he saw hundreds of aliens supporting the weight of the building, as it passed they let go, allowing it to crush them.

"Mindless drones they are, pathetic"

He mumbled under his breath. But then realized something with a start.

"I am important enough to sacrifice part of an army for, I am being held for ransom or as bait."

Loki began to struggle as much as he could given his greatly weakened state, he twisted, attempting to kick the alien holding him. It glanced at him for a moment, then swiftly twisted his foot. Pain shot up his leg, he grunted but continued. The alien growled something and he felt a sharp pain near the base of his head. And fell unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

"What's happening? They're pulling back!"

Steve shouted over his shoulder to Natasha and Clint. The three of them had sectioned off a portion of a street, making it easier to defend themselves against the waves of aliens. But now the aliens had just stopped coming, clearing out as quickly as they had appeared.

"What's this about?"

Clint radioed in from his perch on a surrounding building.

"I'm not sure, they just stopped. Do you see any of the team from up there?"

"It's a bit hard to miss a giant green guy and a god. Yeah I see 'em, want me to get their attention?"

"Yes, how?"

Without answering Clint fired an arrow up, exploding it when it got high enough. The sound echoed around the city.

"I'll be down in a bit, hopefully that got their attention."

A few minutes later nearly the whole team had regrouped, only Tony was missing. Thor had flown in looking agitated and a bit roughed up, sporting a cut on his lower lip and one under his right eye. The Hulk looked like, well, the Hulk. The five of them stood facing each other, all too aware of the gap in their number.

"Did anyone see Tony after he flew off?"

Steve looked around the group, he had no clue what had happened to his friend during the battle.

"No I did not see the man of iron throughout the fight. Although there did seem to be a skirmish a few streets away. Two large building were down, perhaps he was to blame."

Thor spoke up, pointing toward the general direction of the destruction. Silence enveloped the group as the thought of the implications of Thor's words.

"Alright, well we need to get over there then. Thor and Bruce can you two go ahead and see if you can find any signs of Tony?"

By the time Steve and the two agents arrived at the street Thor and the Hulk had already checked over the scene. Luckily the two buildings that went down were under construction and no one had been inside. Thor was currently crouched on the ground, seemingly inspecting something. As Steve got closer Thor stood up, turning to him with a concerned look on his face.

"What is it, what did you find?"

"This is strange, many of these piles of armor do not have bodies inside."

Thor picked up a piece of strange armor and held it up for Steve to see as dust spilled out.

"This does not seem like something Tony could do…"

"Yeah… we'll have to ask him when we find him."

As Steve talked he noticed Thor's eyes travel to something behind him and watched as an alarmed expression appeared on the god's face. Thor blinked rapidly and swept past Steve without a word.

"Thor what-"

The god crouched down, picking something up only a few feet away from the rubble of the buildings. He turned, displaying the item in his hands to Steve. It was a small silver dagger.

"I know this weapon. This does not bode well."

Thor mumbled as he carefully turned the blade over in his hands, its handle was intricately carved with a snake-like pattern set in green stone, its silver blade glinted wickedly in the light.

"Thor?"

"This blade… this blade belongs to my brother."

**00000**

The five Avengers sat on the sofa at Stark Tower, a tense atmosphere stifling the room. All eyes rested on the silver dagger, all minds going through the possibilities of what had occurred.

"Er… are you sure this is Loki's, I mean…"

Clint wondered aloud, looking hopefully up at Thor. The god met his gaze with a grim expression.

"I have seen this dagger in my brother's hands for hundreds of years, I am certain."

Clint sighed and the group fell into silence once more. After a few minutes Natasha stood up, running a hand through her hair.

"I'm going to report to Fury, we need to get on top of this. If something happened to Tony and Loki is involved…"

She trailed off into silence and Steve nodded in confirmation.

"Coming Clint?"

She tilted her head toward the other agent, Clint jumped with a start. Then got up, grabbing his bow and turned to face Natasha.

"Right, yeah sorry, I'm coming. See you all later then."

The three remaining men watched the two agents leave and fell back into an uneasy silence. Then Steve sighed.

"Well let's get to work"

* * *

Author's Notes:

This chapter is really short so I'm uploading the next one right away. They will be longer from this point out. How do you like the dual perspective thing? I'm planning to be going back and forth between perspectives with every chapter, so the next will be back with Tony and Loki.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony's head was throbbing. Groaning, he brought his hand to his face.

"Ugh, what the hell- what happened?"

Not wanting to move he rubbed his hand over his eyes. Then something clicked. He didn't have his suit on, he was lying on cold ground, he had a large lump on his head, and he could hear strained breathing from somewhere to his left. Opening his eyes he sat up, groaning as he did. He was in a dark room made of some kind of stone, the air was cold and felt strange. Turning to his left, he winced. A figure sat, leaned against the opposite wall, dried blood coated its clothes. Tangled black hair covered its face. Tony stared, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Dammit, think Tony, think!"

He growled, growing frustrated. His outburst caused the man to shift and let out a small gasp of pain. Then Tony remembered, the man was Loki, who had saved his life, then most likely he was being held by the aliens. The dammed aliens, he remembered being punched in the face by one of them and getting knocked out.

"Shit, shit, Loki wake up, this is bad!"

He crawled over to the unconscious god. As he got closer he saw how beaten Loki looked. One of his feet was twisted at an odd angle and his black hair was matted with blood from a blow to the back of the head, each breath seemed short and pained. Tony was originally going to try and shake Loki awake but that seemed like a bad idea now. He touched Loki's face trying to wake the god up, when he did Loki jerked back and fell on his side with a solid "thump". Loki shrieked and his eyes flew open, wild with pain and confusion.

"Woah, woah, sorry my bad!"

Tony said quickly, raising his hands in a gesture of apology. Loki's eyes wandered for a few moments then settled on Tony. He stared blankly at him then his eyes focused. He let out a pained sigh.

"Aaa… Stark…ugh…how…long…aaah…have…you…been…awake?"

"Ummm, not too long and I only figured out what was going on a minute ago. You look pretty bad, did this happen while those bastards were getting you out?"

Loki nodded slightly, then grimaced.

"Some of it, they sprained…or broke my ankle then. But no, some…aaah…unfortunately more…recently. They… interrogated…me, which is how I got the…aaah… fractured ribs"

"Ooh, so you woke up before me. What did they want? Who are they? Where are we?"

Loki attempted to sit up but a look of pain crossed his face and he continued to lie on the ground with a look of frustration.

"I do not know where we are. I awoke in another room… similar to this one and I passed out before I could see outside. From what I gathered from their…interrogation… they want to know who you all are, well the leader said "you all" but I'm not part of your little group, of course."

"You can understand them?"

"It seems their leader speaks many languages, this one included."

"What did you tell them?"

"Lies and, or, nothing. It was quite amusing watching them be frustrated… at first. Later on, not so much."

"Oh, well that's-"

A shuffling sound drew their attention to the other side of the room. A door that Tony swore wasn't there before opened and three large aliens entered. They shuffled over, one grabbed Tony, roughly bringing him to his feet, and the other two grabbed Loki, hauling him up. Tony watched as Loki winced and swayed as he nearly buckled under his own weight.

"Hey, if you knew what was good for you you'd show more respect, you're man handling the G-"

"Shut up Stark, I am fine."

Loki shot him a venomous glare, silencing him. The aliens forced them forward.

"I have not told them who I am, Stark."

"Ooh, sorry. Are you sure you can walk?"

"I have dealt with worse in the past."

But with every step he winced and his breath became more ragged. By the time they reached the door he was considerably paler than normal and he swayed slightly when the aliens reopened the door. As they moved outside, a strange sight met Tony's eyes. It was a place that seemed suspended in darkness, the floating rocks lit with a harsh blue light.

"Woah…"

Tony looked around in awe. Then a noise behind him caught his attention. The alien holding him turned around, letting him see what had happened. Loki had stopped in his tracks, apparently his guards had not expected that and had gotten jerked back. Tony could see something was wrong. Loki had lost any remaining color, his eyes were wide, darting around in some form of panic, and his breathing was erratic. The aliens guiding Loki grew impatient and pulled him forward, he stumbled but caught himself. As the aliens pulled Loki forward to join Tony and his guard, Tony gave Loki a concerned look.

"What's wrong, why are you freaking out?"

Loki was trying to regain his calm and eventually he was able to breathe properly again.

"I…this place…I know this…this place. Or, at least…where this place…resides…"

Tony was about to reply but the alien growled and pulled him farther away from Loki. They spent the rest of the trip in silence. Eventually they reached another room, which the aliens pushed them into then closed the door. Tony turned to look at Loki, whom had slumped against the wall.

"Did I just witness a god having a panic attack back there?"

Loki was still unusually pale, he started to reply but stopped for a moment when he realized his voice was shaking.

"I have a-… I have an idea where we are now, but how to escape… I don't know…"

"Okay ignore my question then, fine. So where are we?"

Loki looked him straight in the eyes, something Tony had never experienced before. It was like looking through a window, the Trickster's green eyes reflected confusion and more than a hint of panic and fear.

"We are in the place between realms, where all manner of lost, dangerous creatures, reside."

"Well it's obvious you've been here before, which means that you've gotten out. So we can do that again. How did you do it last time?"

Loki sighed, a resigned look on his face.

"I used the Tessaract"

"Ooooooh…damn"

"Indeed, the place between realms is where I spent a year before entering your world, using the Tessaract."

By this time Loki had slide down the wall onto the ground, he had leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Tony stared down at the god, this was easily the most vulnerable he had ever seen Loki.

"So you can't just magic us out of here then…"

"I doubt it, and even if I could, I do not posses the energy to do any magic at the moment. Holding up the rubble used more energy than I had anticipated and my body is still healing my injuries, which uses up more of my energy. I am essentially useless for the moment."

"Damn, no easy way out. But really I'm more useless than you right now, those bastards took my suit… If they destroyed it, I'll kill them."

"Mmmm…how long must we wait until their leader comes to interrogate us…"

"That's why they brought us here?"

"This looks to be the room I first awoke in, so yes, most likely."

Loki glanced around the cell with dull eyes. He noticed a patch of mostly dried blood, stretching to reach it, he dabbled one of his fingers in the wet splotch and tasted it with his tongue.

"Yes, this is the same cell, interesting."

"Did you just stick your finger in a random liquid to see if that was your blood?"

"Well yes, what did it look like? Why do you have that look on your face, Stark?"

"Nothing, just remembering that I'm stuck with a slightly crazy, thousand year old, god."

Loki gave him a crooked grin.

"Only slightly? I thought I had least qualified as insane and power hungry."

"_Hardy-har_, jackass"

"Did you just compare me to a mule?!"

"What? Ooh, right, a jackass is a type of donkey. No I-"

The door opened, interrupting him. They both turned their heads to watch as a large alien, flanked by four others, entered the cell. He heard Loki hiss beside him. The four other aliens spread out like body guards around the cell. The larger alien turned to face them. The creature stared at them for a few long moment, tilting its head as it did so, then it spoke.

"The other has awoken, it shall be more cooperative, yes?"

The alien had a strange accent, speaking in rasping tones and hissing with every s. Its words were slow and hesitant, as it seemed to search for how to speak its intentions in English. Tony realized, after a few seconds, that the alien had been talking about him. He opened his mouth to reply when the alien spoke again.

"The first was not very helpful, surely the other saw what happens when not helpful, no?"

"Yeah I saw, and I can take a few cuts and broken bones just as well as he can, you're getting nothing out of me!"

The alien regarded him for a few seconds, then glanced at Loki with a wicked expression on its twisted face.

"A few cuts and broken bones only…the first has not shown the other the rest then…"

The lead alien quickly turned to one of the others and spoke in a language Tony couldn't understand. Beside him, Loki attempted to get up, but failed and fell back to his knees again as two of the aliens grabbed him roughly. They pulled off Loki's cloth undershirt, which produced a cry of protest from Loki and a soft "oh" from Tony when he saw what was underneath.

Loki's entire torso was covered with black and blue bruises, black scorch marks also joined the patchwork on his skin. Many strange symbols had been carved into his skin, some of which were freshly oozing blood, seemingly opened up due to the movement. With every breath the god took, his chest strained and shook. The head alien strode over to Loki who looked up at him with a murderous gaze and an expression of undiluted hatred. The force of his gaze would have easily caused Tony to run the other way as fast as possible, yet the alien simply stared down at Loki, seemingly unfazed.

"The first is a fast healer…"

Then it turned to Tony.

"The first was bad, surely the other will not be as bad. The other shall be given time time to think on Tialeor's offer. Tialeor shall return for the other's answer."

The alien then motioned to the other four and left the cell, leaving Tony and Loki alone. Tony turned to see Loki attempting to slip his undershirt on without scraping his beaten body.

"Do you want any-"

Loki shot him a venomous glare.

"No Stark, I do not."

Tony waited for him to put his shirt back on before speaking again.

"So…I guess you weren't going to tell me about this."

"I saw no reason to concern you further, Stark, it won't kill me."

Tony found himself growing angry.

"Right, you really shouldn't let your pride get in the way Loki, just because it won't kill you doesn't mean I shouldn't know. Right now we have to rely on each other, and trust me I'm not too thrilled to be stuck having to trust the damn God of Lies; who, if I remember correctly, has tried to kill me on multiple occasions!"

Tony stood over the god, who was gazing wearily at his outburst.

"Yes, Tony, you are right…You should not trust me, I deserve no ones trust. But I will try and get us out and get you back to your realm."

"Wait, what, really?"

"Yes, and I am starting to think of a plan. When they come back and ask you if you are ready to answer say "no". If I am correct then they will take me and punish me."

"Woah, woah! I don't think you can take any-"

"Listen, Stark. These things operate on fear, that's how they dominate. They make you fear them, and because, when they showed you what they had done to me, the way you reacted will make them want to continue to do that, because it shocked you. So, they will continue to do just that until you are ready to talk."

"How's that going to help?"

"Because every time they take me I can get a look around this place."

"You've already been tortured, let me go I can-"

No Stark, they don't know the difference in strengths that we have. This kind of torture would most likely kill you. I am a fast healer thanks to my magic and I am stronger. Eventually my energy will return and we can work from there. My plan will work."

Loki stared him in the eye without wavering. Tony sighed, frustrated, and looked away.

"Fine, but dammit Loki, this better work."

They sat waiting in tense silence. When the aliens finally did return they prepared themselves.

"Is the other ready to answer?"

The lead alien rasped in question. Tony took a deep breath, hoping for the best.

"No…I umm, I need more time to think."

The alien's eyes flashed angrily but it nodded.

"Very well."

It then pointed to Loki, three of its guards rushed over to grab him.

"The first shall be…questioned once more"

The alien intoned its head towards Loki. Tony glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a flash of triumph in Loki's eyes, which was quickly replaced by a grim determination.

"The other shall be fed, Tialeor will return with the first, in time."

Tony watched as Loki was dragged out of the cell. Soon after he was brought some kind of broth, until then he hadn't realized how famished he felt. It wasn't great, but at least it was edible. Tony was about to finish it off when he remembered that Loki probably hadn't eaten in a while either. He put down the bowl, saving about a quarter of it for Loki. Then he sat, and waited.

"Dammit Loki."

* * *

Author's Notes:

I really find Tony and Loki more fun to write, so their chapters will most likely be the longest. I kinda decided to make Loki hurt a bit during this chapter, it was strangely fun. As planned the next chapter will be with the others, I've finished writing it but have to review it and type it up so I will probably upload it this weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

Four days had passed sense the battle and Tony's disappearance. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been coming and going, setting up plans and keeping the Avengers updated. The Avengers themselves had been searching and planning on their own. At the moment Steve, Bruce, and Thor sat around a holographic display, going over ideas.

"Jarvis tell me again, what were the last few things the suit read before it went down?"

"Loki had arrived and was aiding Mr. Stark in the battle. Mr. Stark asked me to track him and deploy missiles if he got too close. After fifteen minutes something compromised the two empty buildings and they began to crumble. Then the shoulder missiles deployed and the suit's system went down. I can assume that Loki got very close, causing the missiles to explode too close to the suit, temporarily shutting my system down."

"Thanks Jarvis."

"My pleasure, Dr. Banner."

Bruce began typing, bringing up the recovered footage from the suit, he paused it when Loki first showed up.

"So what do you think Thor? You know your brother the best."

"I am not sure, I have not known what my brother thinks for some time. What he told Tony in these images could be the truth, but I doubt it…"

Bruce leaned back and began to message his temple. He unpaused the video, searching for anything he had missed.

"Four days and we are still no closer to having any idea where Tony is. He could be anywhere in the world, no strike that, anywhere in general cause your brother had to get involved."

"I doubt he is on Asgard, he would have a hard time sneaking into my realm."

"Yeah _great_! That helps us a lot!"

"Bruce calm down, we'll figure this out."

Steve stepped in, placing a hand on Bruce's shoulder. The doctor sighed with frustration but nodded and sat down, turning back to the screen. Realizing that it would be best to leave for the time, Steve motioned to Thor to follow him.

They sat staring over the city in silence.

"It is possible that my brother is not responsible for this."

"Thor I- What do you mean, explain?"

"The images from Tony's suit showed that the buildings had began to crumble, and that it was not Loki's doing, no? Then we know that Tony's weapons exploded, they were only told to do so when Loki got close. Perhaps my brother tried to push Tony out of the way."

"Thor, Loki has tried to kill us on multiple occasions. Why would he suddenly decide to risk his life for one of us and show up to fight with us?"

"Why indeed, why would my brother show up to aid us in the battle? I may not understand my brother well but he does everything for a reason. Perhaps, once he joined the fight, he realized that we might find traces of his magic in the area, and if Tony had been crushed by the building he would have been to blame."

"Either way, I think that if we find Loki, we find Tony. And this wouldn't be the first time Loki has had an alien army to attack us"

Steve glanced at Thor, trying to read the god's expression.

"If it was my brother's army then why would he attack it, not attack with it?"

"You said it yourself, we don't know what goes on inside Loki's head."

"I am sorry to interrupt but Dr. Banner has requested that you two join him immediately, he seems to have found something."

Jarvis suddenly said, making them jump. They glanced at each other, quickly getting up and rushed towards the lab.

"What is it Bruce, what did you find?"

Steve entered the room, followed by Thor, rushing over to where the doctor was working. As the approached Bruce spun around on his chair, looking at them with bright eyes.

"Great you're here. Look what I found!"

Turning back to the machine he typed something in. He scooted back, allowing the others to see what was playing. It was a video, of slightly lower quality then what they had seen before. It showed the fight from a different point of view. They were able to see all of what Loki had been doing throughout the fight. They watched as he appeared, then for the next few minutes, fought. They heard the sound of the buildings exploding, which caused Loki to stop and look up. He paused for a few moments then proceeded to fight, seemingly quicker. Then, without warning, he let off a burst of green energy, killing the aliens closest to him, and ran towards Tony, who was currently being swarmed by aliens. He ran into Tony, killing some of the surrounding aliens. For a moment he tried to push Tony but was then surrounded by a large explosion, Tony's missiles. It was getting hard to see due to the increasing static and falling concrete. The last glimpse they had was Tony lying flat on the ground and Loki, kneeling on the ground, with one hand up in the air. Bruce then paused the recording and turned to them.

"Good, yeah?"

Steve looked at Bruce questioningly.

"Yes, very, but how did you get this? We haven't seen this before."

"Well, I noticed in the suit footage that there was a security camera on one of the buildings that wasn't destroyed. So I got Jarvis to hack into the system and got this footage from the time of the fight. It was grainy, so I got Jarvis to enhance it as much as he could."

Thor broke into a grin.

"This is wonderful friends, it shows that Loki was indeed trying to save Tony."

"Yes, but he failed. So why didn't we find them under the rubble?"

"Did you not see it, Steve? My brother was summoning a shield to protect them!"

"What, how can you tell-oh wait, because you grew up with him, right? That's usually the answer."

"You are correct, I have seen my brother do it many a time. I am sure it is second nature to him. They were most definitely safe underneath the rubble, my brother is strong enough to hold a shield like that for some time."

" 'xuse me"

Bruce moved back in front of the screen again.

"So if what you said is true, Thor, and I assume that it is, then we should have found them under the rubble, so maybe-"

Bruce unpaused the recording, which showed only static. He sighed impatiently.

"I don't have time for this. Jarvis is there any time after this point where there isn't just static?"

"Allow me to check, Dr. Banner, this may take a moment."

The three men sat in silence for a minute, then.

"Sir, the static begins to decrease approximately ten minutes before you arrive, I shall skip ahead to that point."

The recording shifted forward. Through the heavy static they could barely make out a picture. The static lessened more and the men gasped. The rubble was swarmed by aliens, all scuttling around rapidly.

"What are they doing?"

They watched as the aliens moved like ants on a hill. The rubble shifted and they moved faster. For the next few minutes there was nothing but that. Then they slowed. From this point of view the men could barely see aliens disappearing into the rubble. A few minutes later a mass of aliens exited. From between the bodies the men glimpsed a flash of red and gold.

"Tony!"

As Tony disappeared off camera another group of aliens entered the rubble, larger this time. It took longer for them to reemerge this time, and the men noticed that the rubble would fall one section at a time. Finally the aliens emerged, leaning closer to the screen the three men could barely see what was behind the aliens, a figure in green and black, with long black hair, unmistakable even when covered in blood. As the aliens dragged Loki off camera the rubble finally collapsed. The recording paused, leaving a static silence in the air.

"After this sir, nothing more happens until you arrive."

"Thank you Jarvis you were incredible."

"I am always here to help, Dr. Banner."

The three men turned to each other, Steve was the first to speak.

"Well, wow, that explains a lot. We still have no idea where they are, but at least we know for sure who has them."

"Yes, and we know that the aliens were not working for my brother, who seemed to be badly injured…"

"Right, and I can guess why they took them. Either to hold them for ransom or to interrogate them, depends on how smart their leaders are, of course. Hopefully it's for ransom, then we will be able to know where they are, at least."

"Now we know what we must do, my friends, we must find them and get them back."

* * *

Author's Notes:

How did you like this chapter? It took less time than I thought to type up and I decided to upload it today. After this it will most likely take longer for chapters to come out though, I'm catching up on my writing, I've got the next chapter in the works but haven't finished it yet. The next chapter is following with the switching perspectives so it will be Tony and Loki.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony had lost track of time, so he decided to measure days by how many times Loki was taken for torture. That would mean it had been ten days. Every time the lead alien entered he would always give the same answer and Loki would always be taken, then Tony would always be fed. At the moment Tony sat waiting with his half empty bowl of broth. Surely Loki would be returned any time now, surely it had been hours sense he had been taken. Just then the door opened and Loki was thrown in, the door was quickly closed. Tony rushed over to Loki, hating that he couldn't help.

The first time, when Loki was returned, Tony had tried to move him to a more comfortable position, but had ended up hurting him more. They had developed a system after a few days. Tony would leave Loki alone for a while, until Loki was strong enough to move on his own. Once he was able to speak Loki would immediately go into any new information he had learned, he refused to discuss what he had gone through otherwise.

"Alright…I found out something new…"

Loki sat up after a while, wheezing slightly. He reached for the bowl of broth, bringing it to his mouth and draining the liquid. He sat the bowl down, listlessly picking at the chunks of meat.

"Really, what did you find?"

Loki flashed him a tight smile, then brought his hand to eye level and opened it. Tony watched as a small green flame danced across Loki's fingertips. Loki closed his hand and the flame disappeared.

"Your magic is coming back more! Great!"

"Yes, it is even better than it looks as well. Fire is an element I have always had trouble summoning, I never understood why until recently…But that matters not. This is a very positive development. I will be able to heal faster now."

"Won't they notice?"

"I think I can create a simple glamour on my body to resemble my injuries. They will be none the wiser."

"How could you tell?"

"Hmmm?"

"How could you tell when you got your magic back?"

Loki sighed and closed his eyes.

"I have trouble explaining magic to non-magic users. You see, my magic is a part of me. I suppose something clicked in my mind. I just suddenly felt my magic return. Of course, at the moment I am still in quite a weakened state. Eventually I will have my full range of abilities back, but for now we are stuck with small flames and illusions."

Tony stared at Loki, he wanted to talk about what Loki never would discuss. He decided he would try again.

"How the hell do you do it?"

"What, my magic? Stark you-"

"No, no, how can you be tortured to the brink of death every day and shrug it off knowing you will have to go through with it again?"

Loki scowled, Tony was sure he wasn't going to get an answer, but then Loki's demeanor shifted.

"I have told you, I have gone through worse."

"What's worse than this?"

Loki's eyes became unfocused, seemingly remembering something.

"They have not broken my mind. A body can be broken a thousand times, but if the mind is intact then one can always recover."

"So you've had your mind broken before, that's what you define as worse?"

"I did not- you are too clever for your own good, Stark."

"Thanks, that's what I specialize in."

"Oh really? I thought you specialized in making bad comebacks and blowing things up?"

"Well yeah, that too."

Loki smirked, this new development in the plan had lightened their mood considerably. The merry mood lasted for a few moments more, then the light died from Loki's eyes, replaced by a haggard look.

"I'm sorry, but I must rest. The interrogations tend to wear me down."

"Oh, yeah, of course, go ahead."

Loki shifted over to the wall, propping himself up, and closed his eyes. Tony couldn't help but wonder what Loki had been like before he and the rest of the team had met him, before he had tried to kill them all. From what Thor had told them Loki had always been quiet but ready for a good time whenever one came up. Thor hadn't really told them much more than that. Tony supposed he wanted to keep personal memories to himself, which made sense. But the way Thor had talked about Loki it sounded like the brothers had a good relationship for most of their life. But the good Loki that Thor told them about was not the same one that lay on the cold ground of an alien cell in front of Tony. This Loki, Tony had once considered just a bad guy, but now he wasn't sure what to think of him. Tony shook his head and scowled.

"You are the most confusing piece of shit I've ever met, Loki."

"Thank you for the compliment, Stark, now stop staring at me if you please."

Loki mumbled, opening one eye to smirk at Tony.

**00000**

Tony watched as the cell door was opened and Loki was thrown in.

A few days had passed sense the excitement over Loki's returning magic but not much had changed. The lack of food and water had made Tony irritable and had, according to Loki, lessened the amount of energy returning to his magic. When Loki had told Tony this, Tony had snapped at him, which he had immediately regretted and apologized for.

"Oh fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, ugh, you can't help it."

"No, you have every right to be frustrated. I have not been getting the results we hoped for."

Tony had then tried to give him a larger portion of the food, but Loki was adamant about the portions.

"No, Stark, I will not take more of your food. We get little enough and my body can survive longer without nutrients than yours."

"Look man, you look like shit, just eat a bit more."

"I would say you look worse, but you probably don't, and again, no."

And now as Tony watched Loki lie face up on the floor with his eyes half open, he couldn't help but agree. Loki's usually sleek black hair was tangled, matted with days worth of dried blood, looking at it Tony was glad he had short hair. His eyes were sunken slightly, with deep bags of exhaustion under them. His undershirt was so thouroughly saturated with blood that none of the original color could be seen, only the dark red of dried blood existed. Tony looked down at Loki's hand and saw that some of his fingers were obviously broken, but even as he looked the popped back into place, healing themselves.

"That's always so weird."

"Get used to it Stark. May I have the food now?"

"Oh, yeah, here."

Tony handed the bowl to Loki, watching him carefully. Loki took it with a shaking hand. He looked at the bowl for a long few seconds then looked back at Tony.

"Stark, stop trying to give me some of your portions."

Look, I'm trying to get us out of here faster!"

"I understand but you need energy if we are going to escape. I've figured out how we are getting out of here, by the way."

"Wait, what, when were you going to tell me?!"

"Just now."

"Well, shit, what is it?"

"There is some sort of ship I see when they are taking me to be tortured. I assume that ship either can take us back to Midgard, or has some sort portal device. I'm guessing the later, given where we are."

"Great, so you'll be able to figure out how to get us back?"

"Oh, no, I am going to make their leader tell us."

"How?"

"By threatening him, obviously."

"You think that will work?"

"Of course. I will frighten him, it will be wonderful."

They sat in silence while Loki ate. Tony decided to broach a topic he had been wondering about.

"So after we get back, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean, Stark?"

"You can't pretend that nothing had changed."

"Why can I not?"

"Because something has, Loki, that's why!"

"Perhaps something has changed between us, but nothing has changed between me and the rest of the world."

"I'm not going to be able to fight you without remembering that you saved my life by risking yours."

"You may have to."

"God dammit, Loki."

"What would you have me do?"

"I don't know, you could go through therapy and join us. I just don't want to have to fight you again."

"What is therapy?"

"Wha-ah, umm, I guess therapy is where you talk to a doctor and work out your problem. That could be a good description, I guess."

"So like healing of the mind?"

"I guess…"

Loki sighed and set the bowl down, he looked at Tony with weary eyes.

"Remember what I said about not trusting me, well-"

"Yeah, well I changed my mind, I do trust you."

"I, you…you trust the God of Lies?"

"Yes, and before you call me an idiot, yes I am, I know, but I do."

Loki looked speechless, he opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again.

"So again, what are you going to do when we get out of here?"

"Oh Stark, I am not sure. I will need time to recover my strength-"

"Stay with us, it's my house, they can't kick you out and I'm sure Thor wouldn't mind horribly, he still wants you to be his brother again, you know."

"But I am not, I have never been his true brother."

"You're adopted, so what, you still spent a thousand years with him as your brother, you are still his brother even if you aren't technically related to him."

"Every second of every day of those thousand years was a lie, everything was a lie, who I am, what I am, where I come from, everything. That is no small fact to overlook."

"So you aren't technically from the royal family or whatever, you still have the same blood in your veins."

Loki looked taken aback and confused.

"I am not- Thor hasn't- eh, never mind, you shall find out soon enough. So what has Thor told you about our past?"

Loki looked at him intently, something about Tony's last comment seemed to have shook him.

"Ummm, just a few stories. We never really asked, why, do you have anything to add?"

"Ah, I have a few stories I know Thor would never tell you. There is a good one with a group of bandits and a snake that I can remember off the top of my head, but it would take to long to tell, ask me another time."

"I'll remember that."

"If S.H.I.E.L.D. does not immediately arrest me after our return, that is. I will most likely not have much energy left, for a time, after our escape."

"Yeah, no, not happening. I don't care if I have to lie directly to Fury's face about you being in my house, you are going to stay until you get enough energy back. You deserve to rest in style, instead of where you usually stay, wherever that is."

"Perhaps I will take you up on that offer, although I doubt the rest of your group would want me there."

"I told you, too bad for them, it's my house. And anyway, like I said, I have a feeling Thor will be secretly grateful to see you alive."

"Although I expect S.H.I.E.L.D. will want to keep you under monitored care until you become more healthy."

"Yeah, damn, probably."

Loki's demeanor shifted and he took up a more serious tone.

"I am thinking we escape in two days."

"Great, absolutely ready to get out of this hellhole. But what about my suit?"

"We can attempt to find it in the small window of time we will have before we may be overrun, but you can always build another, no?"

"Yeah, I can, I guess. Damn I can't wait to get out of here."

"It is that or death, a most dangerous game."

"My favorite kind."

* * *

Author's Notes: The first part was a little short so I decided to combine it to make one long chapter. This is most likely the last chapter with no action, the next from both sides will be action orientated. I'm really conflicted on the ending, should I go with Tony's idea and join Loki with The Avengers, that will most likely lead to a continuation of the story in sequels, or not, in which case I know what the ending will be. I really do love writing this, but I'm not sure, there's only two or three chapters left with this story, should I join him or shouldn't I? What do you think? Which ever I choose will change the ending alot. What do you all think?


	6. Chapter 6

An explosion rocked the city.

"Everyone to the main room!"

Steve watched as the four other Avengers entered the room. He turned around to look out the window again, seeing the mass of aliens downtown.

"It's them again."

"The aliens that took Tony?"

"And my brother."

"Yeah, and him."

Thor frowned at Clint but then turned back to Steve.

"What is the plan?"

"We're going to go down there and confront them. There's only a few explanations as to why they've come back, either they are coming back to hold Tony and Loki for ransom, or they've come back to kill us. Let's hope it's the first."

The team fought their way downtown.

"It doesn't really look like they want to talk, captain!"

Steve heard Natasha shout somewhere nearby. He was currently busy with a group of aliens and couldn't reply. Every so often he would see some of the aliens attacking him drop to the ground, arrows sticking out of their skulls, or hearing roars and seeing aliens go flying past him, or seeing flashes of lightning from somewhere nearby.

The fighting continued this was until they reached Central Park. There a large group of aliens waited, huddled in a circle. Steve saw this and came to a halt.

"Guys don't fire on this group, this looks like it could be something."

Natasha stepped up beside him, her gun trained on the group. They watched as the circle parted and one alien, carrying a satchel, approached. It stopped just within earshot, then held up the satchel. Then it spoke.

"We come with words from high. Within our possession we have to beings of importance."

The alien then untied the satchel and took out what was inside. It was the suit's helmet and another of Loki's daggers. The alien threw them towards Steve and Natasha with surprising ease. They clattered to the pavement near Steve's feet.

"To prove we have the important beings we bring you their possessions. We have requests. High requests information and weaponry of the most secret manner. If these requests are not met high shall end the lives of the two beings in our possession and lay siege upon this planet. You shall not stop us. We shall return in two days for your correct answer."

The alien then signaled to the mass behind it. They parted, allowing the messenger alien into their ranks again. There was a flash of silver light that caused Steve to shield his eyes. When he looked up again the thousands of aliens were gone. Steve turned to Natasha. She bent down, picking up Tony's helmet, leaving Loki's dagger on the ground with a look of mistrust.

"What now, captain?"

**00000**

The Avengers sat back at Stark Tower in an all too familiar formation.

"Anyone else getting deja-vu?"

Clint asked the circle of heroes, all staring at the two items on the table. Natasha gave him a chastising look.

"Sorry, but we've been staring at these things for the past ten minutes."

Steve sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Well at least we know they are alive."

Bruce nodded, not taking his eyes off Tony's helmet.

"Can't say I'm too thrilled that Loki's still alive but at least Tony is."

Thor shot Bruce an unhappy look, but said nothing.

"So what exactly are we going to do, Steve?"

The group turned to look at him. He frowned then took a deep breath.

"We obviously can't give them what they want-"

"Right! Er-sorry…"

"- but if we don't they kill Tony, Loki, and us. So, I'm thinking that when they return in two days, we have the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D's forces and anyone else we can muster there waiting. We'll jump them, hopefully we can end them. They seem to rely heavily on their leader, so if we can take him out that could cause them to panic and go into disarray."

"What if our forces are not enough?"

Bruce looked to Steve.

"Then they will kill Tony and my brother."

"It is a risk we have to take, Thor. We need to get S.H.I.E.L.D on this right away. Natasha, Clint, can you get them fully informed?"

"Our pleasure captain. See you in two days."

The remaining men watched the agents leave.

"Clint is right, I'm getting a major feeling of deja-vu."

"Except this time we know exactly what is going on."

"Yeah."

Thor stood up, grabbing Loki's dagger and staring at it.

"Friends we have seen their numbers. I do not know if we can win this battle, prepared or not."

"We have to try, Thor."

Steve looked up at the god, who nodded in agreement.

"If we have any chance of wining we must prepare as necessary,"

"Let's get ready to kill some aliens."

"Two days really isn't a lot of time."

"It's better then nothing."

Bruce stood up, an idea had come to him.

"I'm going to see if Tony has any weapon plans or weapons locked away here."

"Let's hope for the best."

* * *

Author's Notes: It's another short chapter, sorry! But the next chapter is the last and longer. I'm almost done writing it as I post this so it will probably be up tomorrow or so. I am having a bunch of fun writing the last chapter and thank you for all of the people who responded to what I should do with this story.


	7. Final Chapter

It was finally the day, they were going to break out today. Tony knew the plan by heart and was not going to let it fail.

"Are you ready?"

Loki's voice made him jump. He turned to find the Trickster standing by the cell door, staring at him intently. He got up to stand by him.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Loki nodded, a glint of wicked glee in his eyes. He turned to the door, placing a hand on its smooth surface. Tony watched as he mouthed words in an alien language.

Silently as could be, the door slid open.

Loki rushed out, killing the two guards with blasts of energy. Tony followed quickly behind him. They ran at quick pace through the maze of floating rocks until they reached a ship of metal.

"Quickly, Stark, quickly."

Loki pressed his hand against the door, opening it like the other one. They slipped inside.

"We will look for your suit and my armor for as long as we can."

They snuck through the winding corridors, at every corner Loki would create a crystal of ice on the wall, marking where they had been. Every door they opened revealed nothing.

"Stark, we must go, they will know that their prisoners have escaped by now."

"Just one more room."

Tony hefted one last door open. When he looked inside he saw what he had been hoping for, sort of.

"My suit, what the hell did those bastards to do my suit?"

His suit lay in pieces on the floor.

"Is my armor in there? Ah, yes, good."

Loki slipped by Tony, going over to examine his armor, which was piled on the ground in a heap.

"I can't believe it, those bastards…"

"Wonderful, now we need to go."

Tony turned to see Loki strapping on the last pieces of his armor. He almost looked like his old, menacing, self again.

"It seems they took my dagger, unfortunate, but I will manage."

Tony took one last look at the scraps of metal on the floor, he hesitated, then grabbed what used to be part of his hand armor. The two of them moved quickly through the silent corridors.

"I'm going to kill them, they completely destroyed my suit."

"No, Stark, you do not get that pleasure. I will be the one to kill him, and therefore, them."

"Fine, as long as they pay."

They wandered around the winding corridors for a few more minutes.

"Ummm, are we lost?"

"Of course not! Merely…unsure of where to go."

Loki snapped back at him. It had been too quiet so far. They had expected to fight their way towards the leader. Loki's hand flew up, knocking Tony back. He pushed them behind a corner.

"Wha-?"

"Shush, listen."

Then Tony heard a shuffling sound from somewhere nearby.

"The beings have escaped. The beings shall regret it when they are caught."

Tony glanced at Loki, who was unmoving. They stayed in that position until the sounds of the alien faded away.

"Why the hell was it speaking English?"

"Perhaps it knows that we might be nearby and that was for our benefit."

"Are we changing the plan, then?"

"No, of course not. In fact, that helped us quite a lot. We now know where to go."

Once more they hurried through the corridors, this time though, Loki seemed to know where they were heading. They stopped outside a large door. Loki made a shushing motion and cocked his head to hear what was going on inside. After a few minutes he turned back to Tony.

"There are only three aliens in the room. Two are very close to the door, likely guards. I am not sure how far away the other one is."

Loki whispered quickly to Tony.

"So what now?"

"As soon as I open the door I will take out the two guards. You stay back, only enter once I have done so. Then I will take care of the leader."

"Alright, let's go."

Loki nodded, then placed his hand flat against the door. Tony watched as it slid open.

With a flash of green light Loki killed the two guards. Tony rushed in quickly as Loki leapt toward the lead alien. The room they were in was large, with some sort of control panel in the back. Tony bent down and picked up one of the slain alien's spears. He looked up and saw Loki holding the lead alien up against the wall. He rushed forward.

"Pathetic creature, do you have any idea what doom you have placed upon yourself and you entire race?!"

Loki spat at the alien, a look of terrifying fury twisting his face. The alien struggled to break his grip.

"The first holds no fear over Tialeor."

"Oh, no fear, yes for a monster like you, why should you fear me?"

Loki let out a cruel laugh. Tony could hear the madness in it. This was a side of Loki he hadn't seen in a while.

"A monster, a monster, that is what you should fear. Would you like to see something, oh pathetic creature?"

Loki summoned a dagger of ice in his free hand. He brought it up, as if to stab the alien. But then plunged it into his own arm. Loki's face contorted into a twisted visage of pain and hatred. When Tony looked down at Loki's arm he gasped. Where the ice was lodged in Loki's flesh blue had started to appear. Tony watched as it raced up Loki's body, creating ridges on his flesh. Loki's eyes turned red.

"Now, let us talk, monster to monster, eh? Who is a better monster? I, who was born in the land of monsters, I, a killer, who has attempted mass genocide and the enslavement of a realm, or you. Speak pathetic excuse for a life, you have not much longer! Your skin may be thicker than most but the cold will kill you soon!"

Loki threw back his head and let out a manic laugh. He was absolutely terrifying. Then he drew the alien closer to him, so he was right in its face.

"I will be the last thing you ever see, monst-"

The alien made a swift motion and the words died in Loki's mouth. He dropped the now dead body of the alien and doubled over. Tony glanced at the alien, then noticed what it was holding in its hand.

A long bladed dagger, coated in thick, black, blood.

Tony connected the dots and rushed over to Loki, dropping the spear.

"Wait…do not touch…me…I will…hurt…you!"

Loki shied away from Tony, coughing up more globules of black blood.

"Then changed back, dammit, change back!"

"Not enough…energy…blade…poisoned…lung punctured…"

Loki pulled himself to his feet, everything underneath his hands freezing as he touched it. His red eyes were panicked when they met Tony's. He stumbled toward the panel of controls.

"Already…cali…brated…to Midgard…"

He doubled over again, struggling to breath, splattering the walls with blood.

"Great, quickly, what do we have to do to get it working?!"

Loki tried to rise to his feet, but couldn't and fell to all fours again. He pointed to a small, oval, button on the panel.

"Press…it…takes all…life in…room…"

Tony leapt over Loki's crumpled, blue, figure and slammed his fist on the button.

The air started to crackle and Tony's ears popped, he gritted his teeth. Then the sound of hissing air and a flash of silver light, then, he stood in Central Park. Hundreds of people surrounded him, helicopters and jets were in the air.

"Wait, no!"

He heard a familiar voice shout. Five figures detached themselves from the front of the group and ran towards him. Realizing he was not about to be shot he leaned down to Loki, who was lying on the ground in a fetal position. Tony could see the ground freezing underneath him and a puddle of blood forming from his chest.

"Loki, dammit, don't die on me. You've helped me to much, dammit, you can't die on me!"

Then the five Avengers reached them. They stopped, gaping at the scene, of Loki's blue, dying, body, of Tony, thin and scraggly. Thor was the first to take action.

"My brother must be healed quickly."

He reached for Loki.

"Wait, Loki said that touching him hurts you!"

Tony looked frantically at Thor. The god put a hand on Tony's shoulder for a moment, then picked up Loki, carefully not touching his skin.

"I shall take him to your healers."

Thor spun his hammer and flew off. Tony stood there, surrounded by the others.

"I'm home."

Then he fainted.

**00000**

It had been a week and a half sense the day Tony had returned to Earth and he was finally being released from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s care. He had been given little information, he only knew that Loki was alive and being held under custody. As soon as Tony was released he went to Steve.

"Where is he?"

"Tony, you really should go-"

"No, Steve, he saved my life. I'm not leaving until I thank him."

Steve had sighed and took Tony to where Loki was being held.

It was a small, heavily monitored room. Inside sat Loki, returned to his normal color, strapped to a bed, with Thor sitting across from him. From the look on his face Tony could tell Loki was not pleased. Tony turned to one of the guards.

"Let me in, now."

"I'm not-"

Steve stepped in.

"Let him in."

The guard stared at them, then flashed a key card, allowing Tony entrance. When he entered Loki looked up, his scowl faded to a blank expression as he watched Tony approach.

"Hello, Stark."

"You know you can stop calling me by my last name."

"Why stop now?"

"You've called me Tony before, on accident, once."

"Oh."

Tony could tell that Loki was deliberately not meeting his eyes.

"So you didn't die, that's good."

"Yes, surprisingly they were able to keep me alive. Apparently Thor did not leave my side the entire time."

Loki shot a halfhearted glare to his brother, who watched them silently. Loki shifted uncomfortably.

"So I assume you didn't completely fill me in for our plan. Was that all planned?"

"Being stabbed…no…the rest, yes. And yes, I didn't tell you the entire plan but does that really surprise you? Is there anything else you want, St-…Tony?"

"Just want to say thank you, and wondering if you still want to take me up on my offer."

"Your-oh."

Loki flashed him a grin.

"I would, but at the moment I seemed to be strapped to a bed."

"I'll see what I can do."

Tony returned the grin, then turned around and started to walk out, he heard Thor get up to follow him.

"I will return soon, brother."

"_Joy_."

Tony walked down the hallway with Thor and Steve.

"What was your offer, Tony?"

"To let him stay with us while he recovers."

Steve spun him around and stared at him.

"Tell me you're joking."

"I'm not."

"_Why_ would you let him stay with us?!"

"Because, Steve, he saved my life. And maybe I think he can change!"

"So you think that he is just going to go along with us and become a good guy?"

"I'm saying that he's on the line between good and bad! Maybe we give him a push in the right direction and he's one of us!"

Steve snorted sarcastically.

"Good luck convincing Fury on that one."

"I don't need luck because you're going to help me."

"What, no, I-"

"Tony may be right. My brother was not as angry as he normally has been. He tolerated my presence and hasn't tried to escape yet."

"Thor!"

"See! Look Steve, would you rather have Loki as our enemy or as our ally?"

Steve sighed, glaring at Tony and Thor.

"Fine, but I don't like it. Let's go talk to Fury."

After a long heated discussion, Fury finally caved.

"Listen to me, Stark, one wrong move on his part and we lock him right back up, no second chances."

Tony grinned triumphantly.

"Deal, I'll go get him."

"I shall come and aid you."

Steve and Fury watched the two men leave. Steve turned to Fury.

"This isn't going to work."

"Of course not. Keep an eye on him at all times, we aren't letting him get the better of us."

"Yes sir."

**00000**

Three days had passed sense Loki had been moved in with the rest of the Avengers. He had been mostly confined to his room, as his energy was still low, but every so often he would come down to the main room and sit down. This always startled the majority of the Avengers, only Tony and Thor didn't mind Loki. The distrustful glares directed his way only seemed to amuse the god.

Sometimes when Steve was walking past Loki's room he would hear Loki and Tony talking. Whenever Steve asked Tony about it he would simply reply.

"Therapy."

Steve couldn't tell his he was kidding or not.

That evening Natasha, Steve, and Bruce sat alone in the main room.

"How long do we have to deal with this?"

Natasha grumbled darkly.

"I have-"

_"A-hem_."

The three of them looked up quickly. Loki was leaning against the doorway. He strode over to the fridge, opening it and looking inside with a critical eye.

" _'This'_ has a name you know, and it is not nice to talk behind people's backs."

Loki stood up, holding a can of soda.

"Tony has told me about 'soda', I am going to try it."

They stared at him as he popped open the can and took a tentative sip.

"Bah! It fizzes on the tongue! Fascinating."

Loki flashed them a grin and walked out of the room. Natasha turned back to Steve.

"If I have to deal with him being annoying and waiting for him to betray us I'm going to punch somebody, preferably him."

Loki stood just outside of sight, listening to their conversation and sipping his drink. Then he walked back to his temporary room. He looked out over the city, this really was a good view.

"Perhaps I shall stick around, for a time."

* * *

Authors Notes: Okay, this chapter was really fun to write. In fact all of this was fun to write. I hope you all liked it. And again thanks to those who helped me decide what to do with this story. I'm deciding, as you can tell, to continue it. The other option was Loki dying, by the way, which I might have had too much of fun entertaining that idea. This is the end of this story, but it will eventually continue, I'm thinking of ideas right now.


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